EXISTENCE: Recovery

CHAPTER 18: Project Jonah

Virgil checked the time on his watch, reading 12:15 P.M. Five more minutes to lunch, which meant five more minutes to try and find out everything he could about the information he had overheard from the two girls by the lockers. He looked over to one of the front rows in the classroom and kept his eye on the girl sitting there; it was one of the two girls. He made a mental note to follow any goings-on from the girl - she resonated with dark energy, after all. 

He absentmindedly played with the pencil in his hand. Who is she? And her sister too... the idea that they both have the same dark stench that Ethan does is...confusing, to say the least. 

He noticed that she was scribbling something with what seemed to be great focus. He made a mental note to try and sneak a glance at the paper after class. Slowly, he began packing his things, careful not to disturb the teacher. He sat still and absentmindedly began looking around, only counting the seconds until the bell would let him out. He noticed some of the girls in his area of the classroom sneaking glances at him, and wondered what was the problem. Was there something on his face? He decided to ignore it. 

Within minutes, the bell let out, elliciting a "Don't forget to do your homework!" from the teacher. All the students began packing up their things, save for Virgil, who stood up and immediately made his way over to the girl's desk. With a flick of his finger, he let out a small swoosh of air, causing the paper to fly off the girl's desk and land on the floor.

The girl quickly reacted. "Oh, come on!"

Virgil knelt down and picked up the paper. "Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry, that was my fault!" He stole a quick glance at the paper and gave it back to the girl, who had a bit of a dumbstruck look on her face. Virgil faked a smile and gave her the paper. "Here you are, I'm guessing this is important?"

The girl blushed and nodded. "Y-yeah! Haha, I appreciate it! My sister would have killed me if I lost that." She brushed her hair back. "So uhm, thank you, uh..."

"Virgil," he answered. "A pleasure to make your aquaintance, Miss Roll." 

The girl went really red. "Uhm, haha, yeah! Uhm, thank you, Virgil!" 

Virgil nodded again, and exited the classroom. He shook his head. "Who names their kid Roll? I swear if that other girl is named Rock I might just slightly lose it." He thought back to the girl's paper. 

A to-do list of sorts. First was to find "the Algerian." I better keep tabs on Adam. But first...

He rounded the corner and exited the school building, jumping up and propelling himself towards the roof of the school, where he sat down and pulled out a brown paper bag from his bag and began unwrapping it. He pulled out his phone and put in two quick keystrokes before bringing the phone up to his ear. He took a bite out of his sandwich as the phone continued ringing.

"Chief of Police speaking."

Virgil choked on his sandwich and sputtered, gathering himself before speaking into the phone. "It's Tanner, sir." 

"What's going on? I haven't heard from you all summer."

"Trust, there's a perfectly good reason for that. I've been...bonding, you could say."

"Ahhhh, so things are moving along."

"Yes, yes, everything's going smoothly. I appreciate the smooth transition to school, as well."

"Comes with the job, kid. Now tell me what's new."

"Sir, I'm requesting you tell me everything you can about Project Jonah."

There was a brief pause. "...How do you know about the Project?"

"You hired an agent, didn't you? I'm proficient in my skills, after all. Now, if you please."